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  Discussion on Reduce water freezing
Author Message
Member:
sparky

Posted on Thursday, Dec 20, 2007 - 11:41 pm:

I had planned on getting a water heater for the horses this winter but a few people warned me of potential shocking and as our barn is older I decided to find another way to reduce the ice in my water troughs. I have three horses and they now share one water barrel that sits between the two barn areas under part of the wall. Now I am only filling one trough and they share. What I did was take a 5o gallon blue plastic barrel and lay it on its side and cut the top 4" off approx. We built a small frame for it to sit in so it would not roll over. It holds lots of water and as the horses drink the exposed area size actually changes as it DrOps. This greatly reduces the amount of ice!! Before I had the water barrels cut in half and as the water DrOpped it never changed shape and really clung to the sides - not so any more!! Didn't really plan it that way but it seems to work great. I can take pictures if you don't understand my logic!
Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday!
Janet
Member:
ilona

Posted on Friday, Dec 21, 2007 - 12:07 pm:

Janet you have peaked my curiosity..pictures please.

Something I am also trying is a solar powered fountain running just as bubble to keep the water moving and so prevent icing. The way my tanks are set up I can put the panel outside the corral so the horses don't damage it...its worth a try.
Member:
corinne

Posted on Friday, Dec 21, 2007 - 11:23 pm:

Janet....could you email me at LtSassy1@aol.com, As you might have read on the posts about Holly she is looking for economical alternatives to bringing electric to the paddocks to prevent the water from freezing. She has a few questions for you and would like me to put you in contact with her about your creation. I (and Holly) would appreciate it.

Your idea sounds wonderful. How did you come up with it? And being in Canada you have the cold on your side no doubt. Yes pictures please as I am very interested to see as well. Great idea and if it could prevent thousands of dollars spent on running electric when many can't you should patent your idea!

v/r
Corinne
Member:
ekaufman

Posted on Saturday, Dec 22, 2007 - 9:36 am:

Hi Janet,

Clever idea. They don't cut themselves on the curving in section? How cold does your barn ever get though? Is it fully enclosed from the wind? How many horses use it at the same time?

My guess is that this wouldn't be very functional for Holly, at least for the cold months. Come to think of it, I don't know how cold it gets in Wellington KS. In Wellington CO, it is too cold for too long to use setups like this one.
Member:
sparky

Posted on Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 - 10:40 pm:











here are some pictures
Member:
sparky

Posted on Sunday, Dec 23, 2007 - 10:46 pm:

Our barn I guess would be considered pretty closed in - the door on each stall is open all the time and the DrOp down sides are semi down (old chicken barn 160 feet long) We don't get super cold weather but do battle ice for a couple of months or so off and on. We can't even kill a little pine beattle! I am thinking Holly will need something with a little warmth but who knows. I use a big plastic wheel barrow to take the water from the heated pump room where there is a tap and wheel it down the barn to the trough. Hence me trying to simplify and get down to one tank for the 3 horses.
Happy Holidays everyone - hug your horse!
Member:
evrgreen

Posted on Monday, Dec 24, 2007 - 10:42 am:

They used the same concept at the last barn I was at. I would also haul water with the blue barrels that had been rigged with irrigation connections to open and close the flow. With another flexible pipe connection I was able to direct it into the trough. I would get you a picture but I no longer work there. It worked great and I hauled two with a 4-wheeler and trailer. Keep in mind that every gallon of water equals about 8 pounds.
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